


The Warden

by Linzstl



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-07 17:41:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14676165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linzstl/pseuds/Linzstl
Summary: Lexa is the warden of a women's prison. After coming back from vacation, she finds that her ex-girlfriend Clarke Griffin has been transferred to her prison.





	1. Chapter 1

The chilly morning wind whipped at her face as Lexa jogged through the streets of Polis. Mind clear and heart racing she sped up as she saw the outline of her brick stone building around the corner. As she finally made it to her front steps she nearly bent over, heaving in and out, hands on her knees, struggling to regain her breath. She glanced to her watch to see her time and check her heart rate. Disappointed, she rolled her eyes and trudged up the stairs into the warmth of her house.

“You’re a freak” was the first thing she heard after she closed the front door.  
“Wow, thanks Aden. And good morning to you too.” She glared at her brother who blocked her passage to the fridge, whilst he stood there drinking orange juice straight from the carton (a huge pet peeve of hers, he knew).  
“Seriously Lexa. It’s 6am and we just got back from vacation, and you are already out running?” He shook his head at his sister and brought the OJ carton up to his lips to take another swig. With lightning speed, Lexa grabbed the carton from the clutches of her annoying brother and lightly shoved him out of her way. Placing the OJ back in the fridge, Lexa grabbed her regular morning protein shake breakfast and continued to breath heavily as she shook the mixture around inside her bottle.  
“Well, what do you expect? I go away on one mini break with you, eat what I want, drink way too much, and now I had an extra 4 minutes on my morning jog. I need to get back in shape. I feel like a lazy lag right now.”  
Aden shook his head and laughed and he plopped down on the living room sofa and reached for the remote. “An extra few minutes on a 5 miles run does not a lazy lag make, Commander” he shouted after his sister as she headed up the stairs, presumably to take a shower and get ready for her day.  
“Not a few, FOUR. And I hate when you call me Commander!” was her only reply. Exactly one hour later, Lexa was buttoning up her jacket as she headed back down the stairs and gave a final look to Aden, who was snoozing on the sofa with Family Guy playing on the TV. She grabbed her keys and headed towards the door, only slightly jealous that her brother would spend the day relaxing while she was forced back to work.

After a silent 15 min car ride, Lexa made the left turn into the staff parking lot of Tower Penitentiary. As she swiped her badge at the entry gate and gave a small wave to the guard posted there, she carefully steeled her expression, shutting out the happy memories of her vacation and got her mind back into work mode. As the youngest warden in Tower Pen’s history, Lexa knew she had no room for error at work. She loathed taking time off , but when Aden has subtly mentioned his preference for a graduation present would simply be a vacation together with his sister, Lexa knew she couldn’t let him down. It’s not every day a 18 year old boy wants to hang out with his sister, who practically raised him, as opposed to doing something crazy with his mates. In truth, Lexa had been touched by the request. So she cleared her schedule and took her first big vacation in years. But vacation was over, it was time to get back into work mode. She remembered that Tower had a transfer of 12 new prisoners while she was away. She grimaced thinking of the pile of paperwork waiting on her desk and she stepped out of the car and headed towards the door. 

“Hiya Commander. How was your mini break? Get laid? Did little squirt get laid?”  
Her deputy, and best friend, Anya Pine was sitting perched on her desk when Lexa opened the door to her office.  
“What is it this morning with smartasses bombarding me as soon as I walk through a door?” Lexa wondered out loud as she shooed Anya off her desk and placed her bag in the locked bottom drawer. “Get laid? Who even says that to someone who was on a trip with her YOUNGER BROTHER?”  
“What? Is that so weird? The Woods siblings are both hot, both into women. I thought you two would hit the bars of Cabo and be each others wingperson.”  
Lexa stared at her friend in disbelief. “If I ever refer to or need my baby brother as a wingman, please kill me.” Anya laughed and took a seat in the chair opposite her boss’s desk.  
“So An, I see the place is still standing. Everything go okay in my absence?”  
“”Yup, got all the newbies processed and placed. Nothing too out of the ordinary in the pack. One is kind of a nuttter, not sure how long she will last before permanently heading to psych ward. A few hard asses, and one Barbie…blue blood, real cute, the women are going to eat her alive. Already been banged up a bit”  
Lexa listened carefully to her deputy’s report and started opening the files on her desk. “Banged up how bad?”  
“Nothing too serious. Pretty sure it was Nia and her goons, but of course, no evidence of that. The Barbie spent the night in medical and is back in gen pop now.”  
‘Fucking Nia’ Lexa thought a she came to the last file. “Does the Barbie have a name Anya?” she asked as she started to open the manila folder. Her entire world slowed down as she saw the intake picture of the newbie ‘Barbie’ prisoner, while Anya replied “Griffin. Clarke Griffin”

It was the face and name of a person Lexa recognized. Someone she thought about often, but had not seen in 8 years.


	2. Chapter 2

_“Commander? Commander? Lexa? Hello?”_

Lexa barely heard a word from Anya as she stared at the face from her past. Clarke Griffin. Her college sweetheart. Her first, and if she’s being honest, only true love. She looked the same, as though she hadn’t aged at all, except in her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes that were always so light and open were steely and hard, staring into the camera with a look of disdain. Mesmerized by the photo, Lexa’s senses starting flashing back to her memories with Clarke. The way her shoulder length blonde hair smelled right after she got out of the shower, how her eyes sparkled when she talked about her favorite artists, the way her mouth pouted and her tongue poked out to the side when she concentrated, how her laugh sounded, rumbling, thunderous from deep in her chest. The loud carefree laughter you have when you are young , happy, wild and free.

Lexa was overwhelmed by the flood of memories brought on from one small photo. A photo like the many that had once adorned the walls of her apartment and the board over her desk. A photo like the hundreds that had filled the camera roll on her phone. A photo like the one she had at home, secretly stashed away in a box on the top shelf of her closet. The face in this photo was so familiar, but the expression was not one Lexa had ever seen on Clarke before.

“Yo! Earth to Commander. Anybody home?” Anya’s fingers snapping in front of her eyes jolted Lexa out of her memories. She startled and looked up at her confused deputy who was now standing and leaning over the desk.

“What the hell Lex? You were in a little trance there. Is everything okay?” Anya questioned her friend. She had never seen Lexa look so spaced out before. Lexa stared back at her before putting her head back down to scan the file in her lap. It was a single page with Clarke’s basic stats:

Age: 30  
Marital Status: Engaged  
Convicted of: Aggravated Assault  
Sentence: 2 years

“Dude, You look kind of funny and pale. Are you going to be sick” No response. “Seriously Lex? What the hell” Lexa’s head abruptly snapped up from the paperwork.

“Is this the complete file? Where is the rest of it?”

Anya stared back and her friend, confused and lightly shook her head.

“No, the full records are filed away. I just gave the one pager as always.”

“Well then get me the complete file. I want all the information we have on Clar… on, on Griffin”

Anya didn’t move and continued to stare down at Lexa. “Lex, what is going on? You have the one pager, why do you need more information? What’s the interest in Griffin?”

Lexa stood, interrupting Anya’s question, “I need the full file, so I can properly look into a new prisoner who you let get beat up after only 4 days in my prison.”

“What!?! Are you blaming me for Barbie getting pounded? It happens all the time, especially with newbies like her and it wasn’t that serious. Why do you care so much?”

“I don’t need your excuses! Just get me the fucking file. NOW Deputy Pine!” Lexa slammed her fist on the desk, staring at Anya as she yelled. She watched her friend’s eyes widen at her tone. It took only a moment for Lexa to realize how she sounded and feel guilty for the way she spoke to her friend and trusted number two. However before she could start to apologize, Anya’s look of confusion morphed into one of anger and she backed away.

“Wow, okay whatever you say Warden. I’ll have the file sent in right away. “ She turned and stomped toward the door, yanking it open. Turning her head back to Lexa she sneered, “Welcome the fuck back.” 

“An, wait..” Lexa started to call out, but her meager attempt at an apology was cut off by the slam of the door as Anya exited.

As soon as the door was shut, Lexa slumped back into her chair, and picked up Clarke’s file again. Her mind was running a mile a minute. She had so many questions. What had happened? Aggravated Assault? The Clarke she knew was soft, gentle and kind. She was the girl who found a wounded bird in the quad brought it home to nurse back to health. She was the girl who was friendly to everyone and always happy. She was a sorority girl for fucks sake! Lexa had always known Clarke was special. That was why they split, Clarke was bound for greatness, she was meant to be a doctor and heal babies or cure cancer or something amazing. She had a bright future, one which was never meant to include a 2 year prison sentence.

Lexa continued to stare at the file, until she was startled out of her thoughts by a sharp knock at the door.

“Come” Lexa croaked out. Immediately, her assistant, Indra, entered, smiling as she walked towards Lexa’s desk.

“Warden, Deputy Pine just dropped off this file for you.” Before Indra’s arm was fully extended, Lexa had reached over and snatched the papers out of her grasp. Indra looked at her, suprised, but moved on. “How was the vacation?”

Lexa didn’t even glance up. “Uh, fine.”

The woman awkwardly stood by her boss’s desk. The warden was never an excessively chatty boss, but she was always polite and mildly conversational. But at this moment, Lexa was being a bit short with her. And she looked….frazzled? The warden was NEVER frazzled. She was known for always being calm and methodical, no matter what the occasion. Indra wondered if perhaps she was simply stressed about the work she had missed. This was the first vacation the Warden had taken since accepting the position.

“Is now a good time to go through your messages? I’ve sorted them by priority.”

“Just leave them here. I’ll look later”

“Right” Indra set the notes on the edge of the desk, her boss still not looking up.

“You have your meetings with the new inmates starting at 11. Try to get through half before lunch and then do the rest after.”

“Fine… wait what? Meetings?”

Indra nodded at her boss slowly. “Yes. I know you like to meet all the prisoners personally. I didn’t think you would want that delegated to Deputy Pine in your absence. So I scheduled them for today.”

Lexa looked back at her assistant blinking rapidly. She kept moving her eyes from Clarke’s file back to Indra, who stood at attention with an expectant look on her face.

“I see you have Griffin’s file.” Indra stated, trying to help her boss along. “Did you want me to bring her first?”

“Yes! Or wait.. no. Just give me some time. No meetings yet.. with Griffin. Or anyone. Just give me a moment.”

Indra cautiously stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Warden, are you alright? Can I get you a tea or something?”

Lexa, with her attention back on the file, erratically shook her head. “No nothing, I’m fine. Just leave me. And hold my calls. That’s all”

Understanding that she was being dismissed, Indra simply nodded and turned to leave the office, quietly closing the door behind her.

Lexa was once again alone, still clutching Clarke’s file, with an iron grip, in her hands. She let out a deep breath and walked around her desk over to the grey couch in the corner of her office. Carefully, as though it were an unstable bomb, Lexa set the file down on the coffee table. Once it was out of her hands, she backed away and took off her uniform blazer, tossing it to the other side of the couch before carefully sitting down. She sat there and just stared. The folder sat alone, loudly contrast on the empty black table, taunting her. And she just stared at it. That file was the holy grail of information that would open her back up into the life of a women she had actively tried to avoid for years, and she couldn’t bring herself to look.

 

_‘How the hell did Clarke Griffin end up in prison? I just need to open that file and look. But reading her file kind of seems like an invasion of her privacy. Whatever happened to bring her here is really her story to tell. I could just bring her up here and ask what she did. NO! No, she is not my Clarke anymore. I lost that privilege, and even if I hadn’t she’s in my prison. She is simply Griffin, another inmate, and I have a duty to look into her situation. But, she’s CLARKE! Who the hell am I kidding? Oh God. I broke up with her. What if she still hates me? That would be awful, or worse, what if she doesn’t even remember me. It’s been 8 years. Stop it Lexa. I can’t think of her like any random ex who I happen to run into at a coffee shop….Clarke does love coffee. Shit how will she survive in here without regular coffee? She was always such a coffee snob. Ah! Stop it. Fuck. She’s an inmate. It doesn’t matter if she has her coffee and it doesn’t matter what she thinks of me. Although if she actually doesn’t remember me, I think I might die. I have to have her transferred right? It’s not ethical for her to be under my watch. Plus we could never get back together again if she stays here. Whoa, what? We are NEVER getting back together. Why would I even think that? That ship sailed. She would never take me back. Or I don’t even really want her back so much. Cause she’s a felon now. What if she joined a gang? There were always some rough kids at school. She was always a bit wild. Did she fall in with the wrong crowd? Did she really assault someone? That’s not the girl I loved. Who am I kidding, she could murder someone and I would probably still marry her. Wait WHAT? No, what am I thinking? Besides according to that sheet she is ENGAGED! Who is she engaged to? I wonder if it’s a man or a women. Ugh, is it someone I know? It’s probably a man. I know I shouldn’t say it but everyone always told me those bisexual girls always end up with men. Plus I don’t think her mother ever really approved of our relationship. Yea, it’s probably some good looking rich man. If she applies for conjugal visits I think I’ll be sick._

The storm of questions and thoughts currently assaulting her mind was halted when there was a knock at her door. “Yes?”

Indra opened the door slightly and stuck her head in the office. “Warden, the new teacher is here for your 10:00am meeting”

Startled, Lexa stood up and reached for her jacket. _‘Shit, 10am? Have I been just sitting there for 2 hours?’_ She slugged on her jacket and starting doing up the golden buttons. “Yes Indra, go ahead and send him in. Thank you.”

Indra disappeared for a moment only to return and open the door wide for a skinny man, dressed in kaki slacks, and rumpled blue shirt and skinny tie, who nervously stepped into the office.

“Warden Woods, it’s a pleasure to see you again. I’m happy to be here.”

“Mr. Murphy” replied Lexa, reaching out to shake the man’s clammy hand, “the pleasure is ours. We are happy to have you here. Please take a seat”

John Murphy gave her a nervous smile before sitting down, fidgeting with his worn leather messenger bag; first placing it in his lap, them removing it and laying it on the floor at his feet.

Lexa used those brief moments as John settled, to push Clarke to the back of her mind, and concentrate on John Murphy and her job. Time to compartmentalize.

“Mr. Murphy, as you know this position is probationary for the first 3 months, as per the board’s request. They thought me a bit unusual for wanting to hire a teacher with a juvenile record to work in a prison. But, as you and I both know, your history and your time in juvenile detention, gives you an insight into what like is life for these women. An insight many other teachers don’t have, and can never understand. That being said, please understand that while I personally am not worried, the board is. So your performance will be under a microscope during your probationary period.”

John nodded along as she spoke, “Yes ma’am. I do understand, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity.”

“Good. Now this next little part of my speech, is not because of your history, but it’s something I tell everyone who works for me.” She paused and stared John straight in the eyes, willing him to understand the gravity of what she said next.

“I do believe in rehabilitation for these women, but this is still a prison. I don’t wear any rose colored glassed when it comes to the inmates. They will try to manipulate the staff and do what they can to break rules, any rule, especially regarding contraband, gang affiliations, physical relationships, etc. I do my best to respect these women, but I do not trust them. Nor should you. I do however trust my staff, most of whom I handpicked when I took up this position. And because I give the staff my trust, I expect them not to break it. I have a ZERO tolerance policy for rule breaking. Some of the women in here will try to bribe you or manipulate you, flirt with you even, but I expect you to remain professional at all times. WE are not the criminals, and should I find that there is any maleficence going on, not only will you be immediately fired, but you will also be reported to the police. No exceptions. I have enough problems keeping the women in order, I will NOT have my staff assisting them in their criminal endeavors. Is that understood?”

“Yes, of course. I will not let you down Warden.”

“I know you won’t.” Lexa reached over and pressed the intercom button on her phone. “Indra, please bring in Mr. Murphy’s paperwork to sign. Also have Deputy Pine send someone up to show him around.”

The speaker crackled loud in the office with Indra’s response. “Yes ma’am” Moments later she returned to the office, handing John his start forms. As he leaned over the papers, carefully inserting his information, Lexa’s mind began to wonder back to Clarke. She needed to listen to her own rules. What had she just told the new teacher? No inappropriate relationships or favors with any prisoner. No exceptions. She should report her history with Clarke right away and have her transferred out of Tower. Clarke would never have to know why she was transferred, and Lexa would never see her again and could forget this entire incident occurred. She was resolving herself to this course of action when the door opened and Officer Bellamy Blake entered.

“Good morning Warden. Looking for a tour guide?”

“Mr. Blake, I am surprised to see you here. This is John Murphy, the new GED and college accreditation teacher.” She gestured to the man at her desk. “And Mr. Murphy, this is Officer Bellamy Blake. It looks like he will be showing you around.”

The two men shook hands and exchanges hellos before Bellamy turned his attention back to this boss.

“I know I am not a regular part of our little welcoming committee, but Lincoln is escorting J Block to the yard, and I was right outside, so I figured I could handle an orientation today.” He looked back to John and gestured towards the door. “Alright mate, let’s introduce you to the Tower shall we?”

John nodded his head and walked out of the office, leaving Lexa with a final “Thanks Warden” before walking through the open door with Bellamy trailing behind. As he left he shouted back “Hope you enjoyed the holiday, good to have you back Woods.”

 

Alone again, Lexa’s thoughts lingered on what Bellamy had said. Lincoln was escorting J block to the yard. She glanced at her clock again and realized that Clarke would be on rec time now, and likely also out in the yard. It couldn’t hurt. She was going to call the board this afternoon and disclose the conflict with Clarke, who would immediately be transferred. So it couldn’t hurt for her to head outside and patrol the tower (for which the penitentiary was named) that overlooked the yard. If Clarke Griffin was to be transferred, it would do no harm for Lexa to just see her, one last time. With that in mind, Lexa exited her office, ignoring Indra’s confused expression, and briskly walked through her prison towards the tower. When she reached her destination, she took the stairs, two at a time, until she burst through the door of the overlook station, startling Officer Octavia Blake, who was currently holding the post.

“Whoa, Warden. Uh hi? What brings you up here?” Octavia had only been working at Tower Pen for 6 months, but in her time there, she had never once seen the Warden at the top of the tower.

Lexa acknowledged Octavia with a nod and made her way through the glass door leading to the observation deck. Octavia hurriedly followed. “Is everything alright boss?”

“Yes, everything is fine. It’s just a nice day, and I thought I would come up here to get some air.” Lexa informed her officer as she started scanning the crowds of women in the yard, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

“Ah got it. Going a bit stir crazy, fresh from a week at the beach? I get it. Happens to me every time I come back from a nice vacation. Returning to work is always hard. Although, I’m not sure that was something that needed to be said to my boss. So how was the vacation? I love Cabo. It’s always beautiful and not too expensive.”

Lexa ignored her officer’s ramblings as her eyes searched through the sea of women below her, all dressed the same in their blue pajama-like uniforms. After a few minutes of looking, and moments after her officer realized she was being ignored and had shut up, Lexa was starting to lose hope, when her eyes caught sight of a familiar tuft of blonde hair. She leaned forward a bit on the rail and squinted, trying to see more clearly. There was a blond woman sitting on a bench toward the back corner of the yard. The woman, who Lexa didn’t recognize as a prisoner familiar to her, was hunched over something in her lap, making short movements with her arm.

‘Look up, just look up’ Lexa willed her. She could feel it in her bones, a strike of lighting to her heart as soon as she saw the head of hair, but despite what her body told her, she still hadn’t seen the woman’s face. She had to be sure. And then she looked up and Lexa saw the face of an angel. Her breath caught in her throat as she immediately recognized Clarke Griffin, The One, the woman from her past who was now sitting alone in Lexa’s prison no more than 30 yards away from her. Clarke Griffin was here, she was really here, and from the looks of it, she was about to be jumped.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine. Any thoughts or constructive criticism is always welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

The last decade of her life spent working at Tower Penitentiary had taught Lexa a lot about inmates’ behavior. Her time as a guard, spending hours walking the prison and observing its inhabitants, gave her the ability to detect the warning signs; subtle changes in the environment and the women’s behavior that preempted a shift in the status quo. After witnessing countless incidents; fights, lovers spats, riots, hunger strikes, murders, and coups, Lexa had developed a sixth sense when it came to recognizing trouble. And it was this experience that allowed her to perceive the signs of a planned attack on Clarke.

As soon as Lexa spotted the blonde, she noticed that Clarke had positioned herself in a less than ideal spot in the yard. She was on the corner, so it was a discreet area away from the attention of the guards, but still too far away from the fences for her to rely on them as coverage for her back. She was exposed from every angle. Not a good idea for a newbie without friends looking out for you. Plus, her attention seemed to be monopolized with a sketch she was drawing in the book on her lap. With her focus pulled to her artwork, she was not alert to her surroundings. Another rookie mistake.

Despite taking notice of Clarke’s poor positioning, Lexa still may have failed to see the impending attack, as she was so hypnotized by the sight of her former love. But her view of the blonde was momentarily obscured by another prisoner walking across the yard in front of Clarke. Lexa immediately recognized her as Ontari, Nia’s prized enforcer. Ontari was impossible to miss. While her frame didn’t appear daunting, she stood at a mere 5 feet 3 inches tall and couldn’t weigh more than 110 pounds, she still had an imposing air about her. She had a tightly coiled posture, back always slightly hunched, as though she was bracing herself for an attack. She moved with incredible speed, always walking on the front pads of her feet, causing a natural bounce in her step. Her chocolate brown hair was sharply cropped at her shoulders, and littered with small tight braids. However her most recognizable feature was her face. The rough tan skin was accented with raised keloid scars marring her cheeks and forehead. The unsightly marks were evidence of her many battles fought on Nia’s behalf. Ontari was truly a vicious fighter. Lexa, an avid watcher of Animal Planet, had mentally likened Ontari to the ferocious Least Weasel, the world’s smallest carnivore. Weighing only a few ounces, the Least Weasel had a bone crushing bite that could kill a predator five times its size by latching on to their prey’s neck and draining the jugular vein. Ontari, exactly like the weasel, was small but incredibly deadly.

With the Ontari the Weasel circling near Clarke, there was bound to be trouble. Lexa’s eyes scanned the yard processing the scene unfolding in front of her. Over to the left her least favorite guard, Quint, was being distracted by one of Nia’s Ice Nation bimbos, who had stationed herself directly in front of him, her top half clad only in a sports bra, in a downward facing dog pose. Quint’s eyes wouldn’t be leaving the girl anytime soon. Lexa quickly sought her second guard, Lincoln, on the other end of the yard. He was currently attending a prisoner who appeared to have been hurt in a basketball game. Faking injuries was another classic distraction technique employed by the prisoners. Lexa frantically snapped focus back to Clarke, who was no longer alone. She had abandoned her drawing in favor of speaking to a woman who stood before her. While Lexa could not see the new arrival’s face, she took note of her tall 5’9 frame and long, wavy brown hair with dirty blonde streaks highlighting the bottom inches in an hombre style. That had to be Echo. Echo was another member of Nia’s Ice Nation gang. She was known less as a fighter, and more as a master manipulator. She had an easy charm and friendly demeanor. Her looks, humor, intelligence and affect were like a siren call, drawing her victims into her orbit. This woman had the ability to look a person deep in eyes and declare her undying love with the utmost sincerity, while in the same moment secretly plotting their demise. No matter how often her treachery was exposed to the population, the women of Tower rarely failed to be seduced by Echo’s charisma. And now her powers seemed to be turned towards Clarke, who sat lazily on the bench, nodding at Echo’s words, with a small tight smile on her face.

Lexa’s spine went rigid, her heart started beating furiously, and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing at attention. Something was coming. At that moment, she spotted Ontari again, this time rounding behind an oblivious Clark, with something shiny gripped in her hand.

“CLARKE, LOOK OUT” The warning instinctually erupted from Lexa’s mouth.

Across the yard, the blonde looked up in surprise at the call. In the back of her brain she registered that the voice sounded familiar, the tone and pronunciation of her name (with subtle click of the K) that she recognized. However, that was pushed away as she suddenly understood what was about to happen. The smile on the face of the woman in front of her turned into an evil sneer. Clarke could feel the presence of someone coming up behind her. With lightning speed, Clarke leaned inwards towards the middle of the bench. Bracing herself with her left leg and arm, she struck out her right leg and kicked Echo directly in her stomach. As the girl hunched over gasping, Clarke, with the expertise of a ninja, launched herself off the bench and through the air, jumping over her attacker. Once behind Echo, she spun around again, this time keenly taking aim at the shallow depression in the back of the girl’s knee. Using the heel of her foot, Clarke struck again. Echo’s knee collapsed in on itself and her right leg gave out. With Echo on her knees, Clarke now had an unobstructed view of the crazy looking woman advancing on her. She didn’t think she could run, so she wrangled Echo’s left arm, grabbing hold of it at the wrist and twisting it behind the girl’s back. Clarke then wrapped her right arm around the woman’s neck and pulled her tight against her own body, maneuvering the woman as a human shield against a forward attack.

Watching the scuffle from her perch above, Lexa too sprang into action to help save Clarke. “Blake, sound the alarm!” she barked at the young officer who was gapping at her, stunned from the Warden’s outburst.

“What?” Octavia turned her attention to the yard below “What’s going on?”

“Just do it, NOW!” Lexa yelled back. Octavia turned and ran in the office, slamming her palm against the large red button protruding from the wall opposite the desk. An ear-splitting siren ran though the office, exploding through the speakers and spreading out into the yard. Over the alarm, Octavia heard her boss yell another, even more surprising order.

“Bring the gun!”

Despite her reservations the officer followed the order, “Yes ma’am” she responded as she moved to the other end of the office, grabbing the prison’s only firearm, an old 12-gauge shot gun fully loaded with 7 1/2-birdshot, from its home in the concealed slider shelf mounted on the wall. Rifle in hand and palms sweaty, Octavia made her way back through the door to the observation deck and passed the weapon over to her boss, who pumped and fired a shot off into the sky.

Down on the ground, Ontari had just witnessed the Barbie take out Echo. Her black eyes widened and lips curled up in a delighted sneer. She loved a good fight, and this girl surprised her with her skills and ingenuity. She had opened her mouth to shout-out congratulations at the girl’s impressive, albeit futile, efforts but before she could get a word out the alarms sounded. With no time for banter she started a run towards the blonde Barbie. With a mere foot between them, Ontari tightened her grip on the shiv and prepared to launch, but was halted in her place when a gunshot rang out from above. ‘ _Fuck!_ ’ That meant the officers were serious. With a quick flick of the wrist, she flung her weapon off into the grass, put her hands up, and laid down, face first, on the ground.

With her newest opponent suddenly ceasing to advance, Clarke pushed Echo forward and turned to run. She immediately noticed the sea of prisoners all dropping to the ground and a few new guards spilling out into the yard with batons in hand. Clarke took a few more steps away from her attackers and dropped herself on to the grass field.

Above all the action, Lexa watched on with satisfaction as Clarke escaped from the Ice Nation and the situation was safety put to rest, at least for now. She passed the gun back to Octavia.

 “Load this up again and put it back in the case. Thank you Blake.”

Taking the gun, Octavia still looked at the Warden, bewildered by her actions. “Ma’am, what did you see out there? And who is Clarke?”

Keeping her head forward, Lexa merely moved her eyes to her officer, glaring. “Clarke is one of the new inmates. Clarke Griffin. I was reading her file this morning. As I understand it, she has already been in an altercation and she has been with us for only one week. And as for what I witnessed. It was an attack on Griffin from the Ice Nation. The question, Officer Blake, is why didn’t you see it? Maybe you should spend a bit more time working on your powers of perception instead of sitting up in this tower lusting after Lincoln.” Lexa knew that was a bit of a low blow. Octavia definitely had eyes for the handsome guard, but she was a good officer. Still, the warden was frazzled after this morning’s revelations and her stress was palpable, so she was lashing out.

Octavia’s eyes widened and words were lost on her as she swallowed, nearly choking on her own saliva. “Now,” said Lexa, trying act calmer, “I’m heading back to the office to write up a report of the incident. I will let you know when it is complete and you can come by and verify the facts before you sign off. Thank you Octavia.”

Octavia merely nodded at her boss and both women turned to head into the office; the junior officer moving to return the gun and the warden beginning down the stairs on her journey back to the prison’s interior.

As Lexa descended the tower, she radioed out to her team. “This is Woods. The incident in the yard has been neutralized. Please have the women all sent back to their own blocks. Deputy Pine, have the officers check Ontari for weapons before she is returned. I also want her cell tossed. Echo and Nia’s too. If you find any contraband, inform me immediately and toss them in solitary. I’m in route back to my office. Anya please meet me there. Woods out.”

As Lexa opened the tower door and walked across the outer fence back toward the main building, she was lost in thought. She had to get moving on Clarke’s transfer, and figure out the best way to keep her safe in her last few days at Tower.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the prison yard, Clarke Griffin was once again standing, and lined up with the other ladies as they were herded back inside. She threw a forlorn look back at the bench she had been using earlier. Her sketchbook was still there, but she figured it would not be wise for her to attempt to go back and get it. She grumbled to herself about her situation.

“In prison, lost my sketchbook, some psychos want to beat the shit out of me, this uniform itches and I think I’m about to start my period. I suck at life. What else can go wrong?”

 As Clarke turned her head back to face forward, she did a double take. There was a woman walking with intent behind the gates. Clarke squinted into the sun to get a better look, but the woman was lost to her as she entered the building. Clarke kept staring at the spot where the girl had disappeared, ‘ _Was that…?._ ’ before shaking the thought out of her mind. She was a bit dazed as she continued to move along in the line. She had to be going crazy, because she could swear she had just seen Lexa Woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, writing is hard. Ugh.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm a newbie, never posted anything before. I was randomly binge-watching Wentworth and this idea got stuck in my mind. I was going to put it up as a prompt, but realized I didn't know how to do that, so I decided to try and write it myself. We shall see how that goes. Let me know if you all think I should continue, or better yet, if someone who actually knows what their doing (unlike me) wants to take up the prompt, I would def read their story.


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